This invention relates generally to cleaning devices and cleaning systems. More specifically the invention relates to cleaning devices and cleaning systems that clean surfaces through contact.
Cleaning a surface typically involves convection or contact of the surface with a cleaning medium, a mechanic device or a combination of the two. A cleaning medium may be a gas or a liquid that is sprayed or distributed over the surface to remove dirt and debris. There are also several known examples of chemical cleaning systems. For example, strong acids may be used to chemically break down residues on a surface, such as glass. Mechanical cleaning devices, like cleaning media, also involve contact with a surface. Typically, a mechanical cleaning device, such as a brush or a broom, is moved across a surface with a convection cleaning motion to remove, loosen or sweep dirt and debris off the surface.
Many common cleaning systems used for household, automobile and industrial applications either use air or water as a cleaning medium along with brushes or absorbent materials. For example, a vacuum system uses vacuum convention to suck dirt or debris from a surface while a brush, typically attached to an end of a vacuum hose, helps remove or loosen dirt from the surface and thus improving the efficiency and cleaning ability of the vacuum system. Floor cleaning systems commonly include a mechanical mopping device and a bucket of soapy water. Like a vacuum brush, the mechanical mopping device is used to loosen the dirt from the surface and the soapy water, like vacuum convection, provides a medium to remove dirt away or off from the surface.
There are many different cleaning systems, cleaning media and mechanical cleaning devices available for different cleaning applications. Each system, medium or device has specific cleaning characteristics tailored for their specific application. Ultimately, the characteristics of a cleaning system, cleaning medium or cleaning device are tailored to thoroughly clean a surface cheaply and efficiently without causing damage to the surface.
One of the most common mechanical cleaning devices is a brush cleaning device. A brush cleaning device, herein, refers to a device with a group or several groupings of bristles. A simple brush cleaning device has one set of bristles that is connected to a handle, such as a floor broom, is used to whisk dirt off a floor surface. Besides household cleaning devices, brushes also are used as applicators for applying liquids or powders to surfaces. Brush devices are also used for grooming hair and for cleaning dentition. Steel or metal brushes are often used for cleaning applications where very abrasive cleaning is required to remove a strongly adhered residue, as for example, when cleaning a barbecue grill.
A second common type of mechanical cleaning device is a sponge device. A sponge device is made of an absorbent material, such as naturally occurring sponge plants, or a porous synthetic material. In the broadest sense, a sponge cleaning device, herein, is also refers to wash clothes and other woven absorbent materials. Sponge devices are particularly well suited to be used in combination with soapy water to clean surfaces where low abrasion is required.
A third common cleaning device is a scouring pad cleaning device. A scouring pad cleaning device is particularly useful for cleaning surface that require a high degree of abrasion to remove a residue. Scouring pad cleaning devices, like sponge cleaning devices, are usually hand held devices but with rough or gritty surfaces. Several known cleaning devices combine the cleaning properties of a scouring pad and a sponge cleaning device. Scouring pad, herein, also refers to sanding paper, steel wool and other fibrous materials with abrasive surface properties. Caution is usual required when using scouring cleaning devices, because they are capable of damaging many common surfaces. Therefore, scouring pad cleaning devices are typically only used to clean very hard robust surfaces or where the intended result is to remove a surface layer in a polishing operation.
Yet another type of cleaning device is a squeegee cleaning device. A squeegee cleaning device is typically made of a soft malleable material that is held in a linear fashion and used for displacing water or cleaning solutions from hard smooth flat surface, such as glass. Squeegees have cleaning characteristics, which help prevent undesirable streaks during cleaning of reflective surfaces, such as glass. Thus, squeegee cleaning devices are particularly useful for cleaning windows and automobile windshields.
While there are clearly many options when choosing a cleaning system, medium or device for a particular cleaning task, many of the devices and systems described above fall short of an ideal cleaning device or system, even when they are used for their intended application. In particular none of the prior art cleaning devices are optimized for cleaning a surface where the surface is soiled with a soft residue which is strongly adhered to the surface.
A dish brush, when used in combination with soapy water, generally does not clean dishes, pots or pan efficiently if a food residue is strongly adhered to the surface of the dish, pot or pan. This situation arises, for example, when spaghetti sauce has either baked on or has dried on to the inside of a cooking pot. The spaghetti sauce residue, while not particularly hard, exhibits excellent adhesion to the walls of the pot. A dish brush, when used in combination with soapy water, relies on soap suds and the brush convection of the soapy water to provide a significant amount of the cleaning action. The brush itself does not provide for the high degree of surface contact required to remove the residue. In cases where soap suds and convection have little or no effect on a residue because of its excellent adhesion properties or low solubility in the soapy water, a brush device generally does not efficiently clean the surface, even if the residue is soft.
Despite the shortcomings of a dish brush cleaning device, it is often preferred over a sponge cleaning device, for several reasons. Firstly, while a sponge cleaning device will provide for more efficient surface contact than the brush, a sponge does not always provide sufficient abrasion or surface contact pressure required to remove a residues. Secondly, a sponge cleaning device is typically hand-held and usually requires the operator""s hands to become immersed in the soapy water, which can be an unpleasant experience in the case of cleaning spaghetti sauce residue from the surface of a pot. Lastly, a sponge cleaning device can become irreparably soiled and stained by residues, such as spaghetti sauce, making the sponge cleaning device a highly unattractive addition to the kitchen sink area.
A souring pad device will generally provide sufficient abrasion and surface contact to remove residues from a surface but suffers from all other shortcomings of a sponge cleaning device. Further, a scouring pad cleaning device may destroy or ruin the surface being cleaned, especially if the surface is a cooking pot with a non-stick surface coating.
A second example where known cleaning devices fail to provide efficient cleaning is in cleaning porcelain surfaces. Porcelain is used to fabricate sinks, tubs and deification receptacles, such as toilet bowls, urinals and the like. Stains and fecal material are not readily removed from porcelain surfaces with brush cleaning devices for the same reasons that a brush device does not efficiently remove spaghetti sauce from a pot. A sponge cleaning device also fails to be an ideal cleaning tool for cleaning porcelain surfaces for reasons already mentioned. A more severe limitation of brush and sponge cleaning devices for cleaning porcelain deification receptacles, is that after a single use the cleaning devices can become unsanitary, unsightly and smelly due to residual residue material that gets stuck and is retained between the bristle of the brush device or is strongly absorbed within the sponge material.
Yet another situation where currently available cleaning device fail is in providing for efficient cleaning of enamel surfaces such as teeth or dentition and the like. A toothbrush is the most common cleaning device used for cleaning surfaces of teeth and gum tissue. A tooth brush, unfortunately, is an inefficient device for removing plaque and stains from the enamel surfaces of teeth an is poorly suited for cleaning the surfaces of gum tissue. The inefficiency arises because plaque, while relatively soft, strongly adheres to enamel surfaces of the teeth. Further, plaque is not readily removed from the enamel surfaces by brush convection with water and toothpaste. Thus, in order to remove all the plaque from the enamel surfaces of the teeth, bristles must contact each point on surfaces of the teeth. Even where bristles of the toothbrush contact enamel surfaces of the teeth during a cleaning operation, the toothbrush generally fails to remove stains. A further shortcoming of a tooth brush is that bristle sections of the tooth brush have a propensity to retain water and material that is removed from the teeth after a cleaning operation. A toothbrush will usually remain moist between uses and thus provides an excellent place for the cultivation of bacteria, germs and the like. Yet another shortcoming of a toothbrush is that the toothbrush is too abrasive for cleaning or messaging the surfaces of gum tissue. Thus, dentists generally recommend that their patients use a soft bristled tooth brush. This advise is kindly ignored by most patients because they find that their teeth feel cleaner when a medium or firm bristled tooth brush is used to clean their teeth. Even if a soft bristled toothbrush is used regularly, after years of brushing, gum recession can result from toothbrush abrasion. Gum recession is a condition that exposes highly sensitive portions of the teeth and ultimately leads to temperature sensitivity of the teeth. Temperature sensitivity of the teeth can become so severe for people with gum recession that they can not enjoy warn and hot drinks, such as coffee or tea, or eat cold treats, such as ice cream.
There is a need, therefore, for a cleaning device and system that efficiently removes residues from surfaces of materials typically found in the household and in industry. A cleaning device and system preferably removes residues with strong adhesion to the surfaces with out causing a high degree of abrasion to the surface. More importantly, there is a need for a cleaning device and system that efficiently removes residues, such as plaque, from dentition without causing deleterious abrasion to surrounding gum tissue that can lead to gum recession.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a squeegee cleaning device and system with a squeegee cleaning portion that provides for a plurality of primary squeegee action directions. The squeegee portion has squeegee segments made from soft malleable materials that efficiently remove residues from surfaces through low abrasion contact with the surface in several directions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a squeegee cleaning device and system with a squeegee cleaning portion that provides a plurality of squeegees and a plurality primary squeegee action directions. A squeegee cleaning portion with a plurality of squeegees and a plurality of primary squeegee action directions is particularly well suited for cleaning irregular or contoured surfaces.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a squeegee cleaning device and system with a squeegee portion that provides for a plurality directionally dependent primary squeegee directions. The squeegee cleaning device is particularly useful for cleaning applications where directionally dependent cleaning action is required or preferred.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a squeegee cleaning device and system with a squeegee cleaning portion that has contoured squeegee segments. Contoured squeegee segments alter the mechanical properties and cleaning characteristics of the squeegee cleaning portion.
In is further object of the present invention to provide a squeegee cleaning device and system that has a squeegee portion with squeegee segments that protrude from a flexible squeegee support. The flexible squeegee support helps to ensure even cleaning pressures of the squeegee segments across a surface.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a multi-functional squeegee cleaning device and system that has a squeegee portion with a plurality of squeegee directions and a sponge, a scouring or a brush cleaning portion. The squeegee cleaning device with a squeegee cleaning portion and a sponge, scouring or brush cleaning portion can be used to clean a variety of surfaces.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a squeegee cleaning device and system with a squeegee cleaning portion that has a plurality of primary squeegee action directions and bristles, wherein the bristles extend substantially farther than the squeegee member. In addition to the cleaning action of the squeegee cleaning portion, the squeegee cleaning portion serves as a contour guide to ensure that the surface being cleaned is not damaged by excessive or abrasive cleaning action of the bristles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand-held squeegee cleaning device with a squeegee cleaning portion and a template holding portion, wherein the squeegee cleaning portion is an extendible/retractable or removable squeegee portion. The squeegee cleaning portion can be retracted or removed for application where the squeegee portion is not preferred. Further, in the embodiment where the squeegee cleaning portion is detachable, alternative squeegee portions may be used.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vacuum squeegee cleaning system with a squeegee cleaning portion, wherein the squeegee cleaning portion is attachable to a vacuum source and a vacuum is drawn through the squeegee cleaning portion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide water squeegee cleaning system with a squeegee cleaning portion, wherein the squeegee cleaning portion is attachable to a water delivery source and water is delivered through the squeegee cleaning portion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide rotary squeegee cleaning system with a squeegee cleaning portion, wherein the squeegee cleaning portion is attachable to a rotary device to provide a rotary squeegee cleaning action to a surface.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an extendible rotary cleaning system with a contoured rotary squeegee cleaning portion. The contoured rotary squeegee cleaning portion is capable of being extending into a vessel or cavity and delivers a rotary cleaning action to inner walls of the vessel or cavity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a squeegee dentition cleaning system, wherein the system has a dentition squeegee cleaning section having a plurality of primary squeegee directions for removing plaque, stains and the like from the surfaces of teeth while also cleaning and massaging gum tissue without excessive abrasion. Further, the squeegee dentition cleaning system may be used with cleaning solutions that are delivered through pump device.
The cleaning device and system of the current invention has a squeegee cleaning portion configured with one or more elongated squeegee protruding from a squeegee support and extending in a plurality of directions. Because the squeegee segments extend in a plurality of directions from the squeegee support, the squeegee cleans a surface in a plurality of cleaning directions, which correspond to directions substantially normal to squeegee elongation directions. Linear squeegee devices known in the art contact a surface and clean the surface with a single linear back and forth direction. Since the squeegee cleaning device and system, of the current invention contact a surface and clean the surface with several non-parallel back and forth directions, the invention is coined as an efficient squeegee cleaning device and system.
The squeegee cleaning portion of the current invention has several alternative squeegee configurations, which provide for a plurality of squeegee cleaning directions. Useful squeegee configurations include, but are not limited to linear squeegee segments, continuous spiraling squeegees, circular squeegees and combinations thereof. Elongated squeegees are preferably made of soft malleable materials such as rubber, silicone and urethane. The surfaces of the squeegees are contoured or modified to alter their cleaning properties according the intended cleaning application.
The squeegee cleaning portion preferably has a contoured squeegee support that is compressible and allows protruding squeegees to readily conform to irregular surfaces. The contoured squeegee support may also be attached to a cleaning head, thus forming a cushion cavity between the contoured squeegee support and the cleaning head. The rigidity of the cushion cavity can be altered by filling the cushion cavity with a variety of materials including air, gels and silicones.
In one embodiment of the current invention, the squeegee cleaning portion also has a sponge section, scouring pad section or a brush section, which protrudes from the squeegee support. Alternatively, a sponge portion, scouring pad portion or a brush portion is attached to the edge of the squeegee support or positioned at the back side of the squeegee support to provide a multi-functional cleaning device.
In yet another embodiment of the current invention the squeegee cleaning portion is attachable to a vacuum source, wherein a vacuum is drawn through the squeegee cleaning portion or the squeegee cleaning portion is attachable to a water delivery source and water is delivered through the squeegee cleaning portion.
In yet other embodiments of the current invention, squeegee cleaning portions are capable of being attached to rotary devices and are configured to provide rotary cleaning action. These embodiments are useful for cleaning walls of containers, cleaning out pipes or plumbing but may also be used to clean flat surfaces such as floors. Further, rotary squeegee cleaning portions can be miniaturized to have medial applications.
Particular embodiments of the squeegee cleaning device and system, described herein, have household and industrial cleaning applications such as for cleaning dishes, porcelain and other hard surface. The invention also is particularly useful for cleaning dentition without causing deleterious abrasion to the surrounding gum tissue.